Joe Frazier

For all the novelty of their fight, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have relied on boxing's most durable means of promotion. Through words and behavior, they have concocted a racial rivalry in a climate ripe for exploiting it.

In press tours stops in Los Angeles and Toronto, McGregor said to Mayweather, "Dance for me, boy." In a subsequent tour stop in Brooklyn, following criticism of those remarks, McGregor explained he couldn't be racist because he was "half-black from the belly button down." He then thrust his pelvis as a gesture "to all my beautiful black female fans." Mayweather has since stated many people believe McGregor is racist and...

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For all the novelty of their fight, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have relied on boxing's most durable means of promotion. Through words and behavior, they have concocted a racial rivalry in a climate ripe for exploiting it.
In press tours...

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Cassius Clay was infuriating.
Me and my high school buddies — Gus Kordick, Frank Oberle and Johnny Matthis — all wanted someone to knock him out. He was a braggart. A show-off. You just did not act that way in professional sports.
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Muhammad Ali's arm quivered as he extended his hand and my voice trembled as I introduced myself that magical day almost 20 years ago.
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Published in Chicago Tribune on June 05, 2016 — Print headline: "Out of ring, Ali pulled no punches - In the Wake of the News"